2004’s “The Batman” is a fun and sometimes underrated series that wasn’t afraid to take big swings. You can see that with its spin-off film, one that lives up to exactly what its audacious title promises: “The Batman vs. Dracula.”
Advertisement
While hunting for some lost treasure in a Gotham graveyard, the Penguin (Tom Kenny) accidentally unearths a long-forgotten tomb — the lord of the vampires’. Cobblepot becomes Renfield as Dracula (Peter Stormare) begins terrorizing Gotham at night, intending to make it into a city of the dead. All that stands in his way, of course, is Batman (Rino Romano). But to paraphrase a different movie, Batman has only adopted the darkness — Dracula is the prince of it, with speed and strength that outmatches even the Caped Crusader’s refined battle skills. Bruce Wayne may dress like a bat, but Dracula can become one. What the Batman does have, though, is strength of will.
“The Batman vs Dracula” avoids feeling like just an extended episode of the show because it raises the stakes and scope. The movie is three times as long as a typical “The Batman” adventure because Dracula is just that big a threat. He could plunge Gotham into an apocalypse, not just a crime wave. The cartoon’s usual score (composed by Thomas Chase) is reused, but the smooth guitar riffs for Batman contrast with an eerie violin theme for Dracula, signaling how out of place this ancient evil is.
Advertisement
Unlike the show, the movie was also rated TV-PG. It can actually show blood onscreen, and the film gets away with violence and terror the show never could (see: vampire Joker). “The Batman vs Dracula” is still an appropriate movie for kids, but it pushes the envelope just enough that it will actually feel intense and scary to them.